AIA UK 2015 EXCELLENCE IN DESIGN AWARDS - FREDERICK GRIER
Fiona Mckay
The 21st Annual AIA UK Excellence in Design Awards was held on Tuesday, 28th April, at the Magazine Restaurant in the Zaha Hadid designed Serpentine Sackler Gallery. During the champagne and cocktail reception prior to the awards ceremony, over 120 distinguished guests joined the chapter in recognizing the terrific efforts and astonishing talent on display throughout the restaurant.
This year’s jury was headed by Fred Manson, Associate Director of Heatherwick Studio, and included a versatile mix of members including Brett Steele, Director of AA School of Architecture and Owen Pritchard, Technical Editor of Architects’ Journal. Mr Manson, along with members of the jury including Alison Brooks, Founding Director of Alison Brooks Architects, conferred certificates and accolades upon well-known architects, emerging architects and students alike.
This year, for the first time ever, AIA UK Design Awards opened a category for young architects, with design directors under 40 years-of-age, to encourage and reward work by a new generation of architects. The jury awarded this prize to The Lee Centre by Feilden Fowles for its outstanding use of materials and interior spaces. Edmund Fowles and Fergus Feilden enthusiastically accepted the certificate and honour bestowed from the jury.
“The enjoyable task of judging the AIA UK Awards demonstrated the range of excellent work from the familiar to the unknown in Britain today. The jury judged the digital entries which favoured projects with clear, strong forms. Since the selection was made on the basis of images, perhaps the award should be given equally to the photographers.”
– Fred Manson, head juror
Young Architect Award
Photography: © Henrietta Williams
Feilden Fowles Architects – The Lee Centre, Ralph Allen School, Bath, UK (completed 2013)
In parallel with the Professional and Young Architect awards, the chapter also recognizes future talent through the Noel Hill Student Travel Award. With the generous support of Laufen, this program awarded two students from the Mackintosh School of Architecture at The Glasgow School of Art with £1000 to support their trip to Cambodia to assist with the design and construction of a new community centre in Sihanoukville, Cambodia. Ryan McGaffney and Jennifer Taggart will spend July and August with the humanitarian design organisation Orkidstudio in Cambodia, after completing a series of design workshops to finalize their design. These two students will construct the centre using local materials with assistance from the organisation, as together they educate and empower the local men and women with the tools to build, maintain and potentially construct additional structures as the community’s needs continue to grow.
Noel Hill Travel Award
Ryan McGaffney and Jennifer Taggart
The Mackintosh School of Architecture at The Glasgow School of Art
Previous design by the students using temporary materials, designed and built in two weeks. The jury selected two outstanding designs for Commendation from the impressive bevy of professional submissions received this year, including projects from some of the top firms in the country.
Professional Commendation
Seth Stein Architects – Equestrian Centre, Victoria, Australia (completed 2014)
Professional Commendation
Duggan Morris Architects – Alfriston Swimming Pool, Buckinghamshire, UK (completed 2014)
Photography: © Jack Hobhouse
In addition to the Commendations, the jury selected one standout project that best exemplified excellence in design from this year’s entries. David Chipperfield Architects’ Office building Moganshan Road combines effortless details and profound elegance with simple yet highly comfortable office space amongst the rapidity of development in China. This project shows a refinement of design well worthy of the highest accolade.
Professional Winner
David Chipperfield Architects – Office building Moganshan Road, Hangzhou, China (completed 2013)
Photography: © Simon Menges
“We are happy and honoured to receive the AIA UK Excellence in Design Award for our project in Hangzhou. We would like to thank our client ‘Hangzhou Fanes Baoyuan Real Estate’ for the great collaboration and support in realizing a building with generous office spaces and in high quality materials.”
– David Chipperfield Architects
